We were able to spend a weekend with friends exploring Big Sur on the California coast, the same friends that we went Bicycling Yosemite National Park with.
Big Sur is right off California State Route 1 (Hwy 1), more famously known as the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). If you search this highway, there are many travel sites and links with more information on this popular travel route.
According to Wikipedia, PCH is 656 miles (1,056 km), and is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US. It's a scenic and relaxing drive, if you ever get a chance I highly recommend it. In the past, I've driven the entire highway in two sections. One drive from San Francisco heading north to Oregon. At different times, from San Francisco driving south to Santa Monica.
This is the Seal Beach Overlook where we stopped to take several family photos and appreciate the beautiful scenery.
We also went to McWay Falls as a group and it was incredible, probably one of the most beautiful places in California that I've visited. There is parking nearby at McWay Waterfall Trailhead and then it's a short walk to this grotto area.
Here is a view from further back. It's hard to capture the area in photographs, the views are spectacular. You can hear both the waves coming in against the rocks and sand and also the waterfall.
The above photo is not mine, it's taken from Google maps. Unfortunately I didn't get my own picture of this while we were there.
This is a neat little tunnel you walk through to get under the highway from the parking area to the falls.
Our friends stayed at the Big Sur Campground and Cabins, we stayed further away in Carmel and drove back to meet them in the mornings.
This is one of the cabins our friends were staying in. Surprisingly nice inside and outside.
We grilled ribeye steaks and asparagus outside for dinner one of the evenings.
I like how this picture of the asparagus turned out with the contrasting colors. We cooked the steaks medium rare and they were delicious.
The campground was right on the Big Sur River and offered tube rentals. The kids, and some of the adults, enjoyed tubing on the river from one end of the campground to the other.
The water was cold, by California standards, but everyone had a good time.
One thing about the trip I will not forget are the prices for gasoline in the area. There are few gas stations in the area and it is priced accordingly. I've seen some expensive gas in my time, but this is by far the highest I've seen. The prices are in USD per one gallon of gasoline.
Note: image is not mine and is from Google Maps because I didn't think to take a photo of the gas prices at the time.
For our final afternoon, we ate lunch together at Nepenthe which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It was a wonderful meal with incredible scenery before saying bittersweet goodbyes to our friends.
These first two pictures are the patio area outdoors. We sat at the table on the far right of this photo just under that line of lights.
We ordered a light appetizer with fruit, cheeses, and crackers.
My friend ordered steak with garlic butter.
After finishing our meal,, and while waiting for our food, we went to the walkway around the perimeter of the restaurant to enjoy the view, shade, and cool breeze.
